A Treasure Trove of Resources

What if you could find the best educational resources, vetted by experts, and based on the latest research -- all free, in one place, and focused on the needs of students and families like yours? You can, right on our own Yellin Center website.

We've always offered a website section with links to Resources, but over the past few months, our team of learning specialists has spent some time expanding and updating our hundreds of listings and we want to shine a light on what we think is an excellent starting place for families seeking information.

Our offerings include educational games, reading, and fourteen other categories, with dozens of links in each. The best way to get a sense of the links and listings -- each of which has a brief review or description -- is to scroll through them. We think you'll find them helpful. And we hope you will let us know if you do.

American Heritage College Planning

High school students and their families are always looking for useful sources of information about college planning, colleges, and everything related to the process of moving beyond high school to the next step in a student's education. There are countless articles, books, websites, and colleges themselves to learn about, but it is difficult for students and their parents to keep up with the constant flow of information and the seemingly endless lists of colleges to consider. High school guidance counselors and web-based college planning programs can be helpful, but we have found another terrific resource for students, parents, and their counselors alike.

American Heritage College Planning is a Facebook page administered by Luciana Mandal, M.Ed., Director of College Planning at American Heritage School, a private Pre-12 school (with over 1400 high school students) in Plantation, Florida. Featuring the oft heard quotation attributed to Frank Sachs, Past President of the National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC), "College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won," the page includes links to current books and articles, information about specific colleges, and planning tips that can be useful to all students thinking about college. 

"The media can often skew information," Ms. Mandal noted. "So, when we see well-written and accurate articles in the media that represent our real experiences in the field, we like to make them available to anyone who follows our Facebook Page." She continued, "The practice in our college office at American Heritage is to guide students individually, based on family and student priorities. We believe that education is a process and not a race, and that the college degree is a step toward a career. That "good fit" college is what we seek for each student, so having toured over 250+ colleges (collectively in our department), we know much more about the college fit than where it sits on a rank list. Therefore, the articles we post present important angles not well-known to the public."

It's easy enough to keep up with the information posted by Ms. Mandal and her colleagues; just add the page to your "friends" list and be prepared to be informed.  

Learning Links: Recent News

Photo: monkeyatlarge

• Do Kids Really Have ‘Summer Learning Loss’? (Time Ideas)
• US Graduation Gain for Students with Learning Disabilities, but Challenges Remain (Southern California Public Radio)
• Fewer Minority Kids Diagnosed with ADHD (Reuters/Yahoo)
• Rate for Subsidized Stafford Loans Doubles (Alaska Public Media)

The Prevalence of Over-Protective Parenting

Yet another study has emerged which suggests that parents who shield their children from failure are likely doing more harm than good. In a recent article in The Atlantic, author and teacher Jessica Lahey summarizes the research on this subject and provides a few hair-raising stories of her own about over-involved parents.

The study surveyed “parenting professionals,” people like psychologists, counselors, and teachers about instances of hyper-protective parenting they have encountered. Some shared stories of parents being overprotective and too involved in their children’s lives. Others reported that they’d seen examples of parents who insisted on “taking their child’s perception as truth, regardless of the facts,” and “were quick to believe their child over the adult and deny the possibility that their child was at fault or would even do something of that nature.” Lahey proposes that the latter parenting style is the more damaging one. While some parents may feel that they are simply protecting their children, Lahey believes that they are in fact depriving their kids of the opportunity to solve their own problems and learn independence. Also part of this group are parents who bail their kids out of situations that might teach them responsibility, such bringing a forgotten assignment to school or demanding that a teacher change a child’s final grade.

Lahey implies that even if these parents don’t do actually complete students’ homework for them—something that, frighteningly, most teachers have encountered—they’re still preventing kids from developing other, arguably more important skills. Teachers, you see, have a hidden agenda. A teacher’s explicit curriculum is readily visible. This is the academic part of school, in which students learn facts and concepts about concrete subjects like math, science, and history. But the implicit curriculum is harder to see; in fact, most kids aren't even aware that it’s there. The implicit curriculum is a teacher’s way of helping kids learn important life skills, like keeping track of dates, pacing work, and organizing and being responsible for materials. It’s hard on a student when he procrastinates on a seventh grade science project and earns a poor grade for his sub-par work. But it’s even harder when, as an adult, he procrastinates on an important project in the office and has to present poor results to his boss. Suddenly the failed science project looks like an learning opportunity instead of a disaster. Kids whose parents shield them from the consequences of their irresponsible behavior may learn the explicit curriculum well. But they’re missing out on the critical lessons conveyed by the teacher’s implicit curriculum.

The thing is, if a child is going to learn from his mistakes, he has to be allowed to make some.

We want to be sure to present one very important caveat, however: If a child is clearly doing her best but continues to fail, her parents need to consider that something else may be going on. While we whole-heartedly believe it’s important to let children struggle and make mistakes when they have all the tools they need to succeed, asking a child with serious learning challenges to simply roll with the punches is simply not fair, and is likely to do more harm than good. We encourage parents who perceive that their child isn’t experiencing success, even with a great deal of time and effort, to consult the child’s teacher or other education professionals for guidance.

Read the full article from The Atlantic: Why Parents Need To Let Their Children Fail by Jessica Lahey

The Best 100 Young Adult Novels

We love best-of book lists, and National Public Radio has just released a great one. After inviting listeners to nominate their favorites, NPR has published a list of the best 100 novels for young adults.

The selection process was an interesting one, inviting ire from NPR fans who couldn't believe that favorites like Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret were left off the list. Judges managed to narrow the list of over 1200 nominees down to 235 finalists, in part by holding firm to the idea that “young adult novels” are books intended for readers between the ages of 12 and 18. Therefore the Little House on the Prairie books, all winners of the Newberry Award, and many other much-beloved tomes, were deemed too juvenile for a vote of this nature. Books written for adults but read by many young adults, such as classics like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Jane Eyre, were also given the ax, though it seems that the judges were unable to part with some titles intended for adults; Dune and Catcher in the Rye both made the cut.

The list of finalists is an eclectic blend of timeless and contemporary titles that vary hugely in sophistication, reading level, and theme. Literature snobs may turn up their nose at some of the results (Twilight? The Vampire Academy??), but parents and educators of reluctant readers will rejoice that the list contains books the teenagers in their lives may find more accessible than the oft-recommended classics on the list (like The Giver, A Separate Peace, and Lord of the Flies). The list is also a great place to turn for fresh ideas. We’re willing to bet you've never even heard of the winner of the fourth place slot. Whether teenagers are looking for a way to pass the few weeks left before school begins, or planning ahead so that they’ll have their mandatory recreational selection in place when classes begin, this list is an excellent place to begin.

100 Best-Ever Teen Novels (NPR)

Photo: Monterey Public Library / Creative Commons

Reading Recommendations for Writers

The following writing guides are among the best out there for those looking to get inspired or improve their writing skills. Appropriate for all adults, most high school students, and even precocious middle school students, these books will have even the most reluctant of writers racing for paper and pen.

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, by William Zinsser, is a classic resource for people who have to do lots of non-fiction writing. His advice is useful for students and professionals alike; Zinsser provides great tips for writing formal essays or simply writing an email to a colleague. The first part of his book contains writing principles and discusses various methods of getting words on a page. The second half is dedicated to specific forms of non-fiction like business, sports, memoirs, travel, etc. We are particularly impressed by his tips on rewriting and the way he explains how to banish “clutter” (i.e. extraneous words) from sentences and paragraphs.

Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within is more than just a writing guide. This is the kind of book that turns browsers into readers; dip into it for tips and you may find yourself reading it from cover to cover. Potential users should be aware that this is not a book to reference if you’re looking for very specific writing tips. It seems to be equal parts zen and instruction. Goldberg shares many of her own experiences and offers great advice on how to choose verbs, getting first thoughts out, and how to listen (because, she claims, “writing is 90% listening”). Goldberg believes that writing is not necessarily about the final product – though the final product is important – but about the self-discovery that occurs while creating the final product. Her short, witty chapters and warm tone may give reluctant, anxious, or frustrated writers the confidence they need to pick the pencil back up and begin again.

Fans of Stephen King’s literature will be surprised to see that the cover of his On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft features a bright window in a clean, white house with decorative flowers planted beneath. And this is the guy who kept us tossing and turning after reading The Shining?  There’s nothing spooky about this part-memoir, part-guide, however, except maybe how addictive it is. King recounts his experiences as a writer, and his keen observations about the links between writing and life will inspire and empower would-be writers everywhere. The book contains a writer’s “tool kit,” a reading list, various assignments writers can sink their teeth into, a story with corrections so that readers can appreciate the importance of editing, and more.

For those who wonder why they should take advice on writing from authors they've never heard of, Jon Winokur’s Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights will be a welcome relief. The book is a collection of statements about all aspects of writing from people across the ages who demonstrated their prowess with a pen, from Aristotle to Toni Morrison. Though the book is intended to be more entertaining than instructive, readers will certainly find inspiration and wisdom in the words of some of their favorites, like Kurt Vonnegut’s tip: “Make your characters want something right away even if it’s only a glass of water,” and Hemingway’s suggestions to: “Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Eliminate every superfluous word.”

Preparing to Face College Tuition: The Net Price Calculator

Everyone knows college is getting more and more expensive. Each year, it seems, institutions across the country hike up tuition a little more. However, are rate hikes as steep a they seem? A recent analysis by NPR's financial blog Planet Money found that just as college sticker prices have risen, available scholarship and grant money is on the rise too. The upswing in tuition and grants almost matches, meaning that the net cost of attending college may actually not have risen as much as is popularly believed.

This sounds like great news, but what can students realistically expect to pay? To help families grapple with this question as they prepare to confront the cost of sending their children to universities, colleges are now required to post a very useful net price calculator on their websites. Planet Money explains that the calculator poses questions about the student's performance and his/her family's financial situation, then calculates what the likely tuition will be. For many students, the cost is considerably lower than the advertised sticker price once applicable scholarships and grants are figured in. The National Center for Education Statistics has a  useful page containing more information about the calculator; it's worth a visit for anyone who plans to pay for higher education in the near future.

Photo: ImagesofMoney/Flickr Creative Commons

History Lessons Brought to Life by "Maps of War"

What if you could learn about the spread of world religions throughout the world's history in only 90 seconds? The website Maps of War may not impart all of the details as religions ebbed and flowed across the world during the last 5,000 years, but it does an impressive job of showing how ideas spread.

Maps of War features many different maps showing both historic and current events and trends. Students can watch democracy spread across the globe, see the Middle East change hands (again and again and again), check out the way the Western Front wavered its way around Europe during World War I, and see firsthand how troops have moved through Iraq over the past few years. 

Maps of War will suck in history buffs, cartophiles, and reluctant students who just can't fathom why anyone should bother studying history. 

Watch the presentation embedded below for an example of how Maps of War can help bring history to life.

An Award-Winning Memory

Joshua Foer

In 2005 journalist Joshua Foer covered the U.S.A. Memory Championships for a story. He was fascinated by the event, which challenges competitors to push their memories to the limit by recalling decks of cards in sequence, a previously unpublished poem, long lists of numbers, or fictitious first and last names associated with photographs of various people. The more Foer saw, the more he was fascinated by the competitors' apparently limitless capacities for holding information. He began to study memory and to do his own experiments. A year later, he returned to the Championships, this time as a competitor. Not only did he win, but he set a new record in the "speed cards" event by memorizing an entire deck of cards in only one minute and forty seconds.

Foer describes how he accomplished this feat in an intriguing TED talk. TED is a nonprofit whose mission is to bring together individuals from the worlds of technology, entertainment, and design to share what they know at conferences and via "talks" on their website, among other means. Foer swears that he does not have a particularly great memory. Anyone, he says in his talk, can accomplish this sort of thing.  

Foer was able to learn all the cards because he had dedicated time and energy to assigning each card a celebrity match and memorizing them. For example, the six of hearts might be Britney Spears, the jack of diamonds might be Mickey Rooney, etc. He made sure to select celebrities that were meaningful to him and whom he could clearly visualize; for example, famous as author Mary Shelley may be, it's hard to picture her. Then he practiced by going through a decks of cards, imagining very vivid scenarios in which he walked through his house and encountered each of the characters in the order that their cards were drawn from the deck. When the cards were taken away he simply replayed the scenario in his head and was able to "see" each of the celebrities and associate each with their card.

While this particular situation is not one we encounter often at The Yellin Center, Foer's message about memory echoes advice we often give students: To remember something, one has to figure out a way to convert the information into another format that will make it meaningful. For example, to remember information about the Battle of Gettysburg for a test, a student could draw the battle, representing the different battalions and their actions throughout the conflict. The student could act it out with friends or with Lego people. The student could picture the battle vivdly in his/her head, or find a documentary or a narrative account of the battle. It may also be valuable to compare and contrast the Battle of Gettysburg with something the student knows well, ranging from another battle to a football game.

Memory strategies are generally not one-size-fits-all, meaning that learners will have to experiment to figure out which kinds of transformations will make the information meaningful, and therefore memorable, to them. But as Foer, the journalist turned memory champion, demonstrates, seemingly superhuman feats of memory are not as superhuman as they seem.

Photo credit: Dmadeo via Wikimedia Commons

Friday Favorites

SchoolBook
The School Book pages of the New York Times are an excellent "go to" resource for what is going on in the world of New York City education. They include links to helpful guides and websites, a school search feature, and articles, blogs, and conversation threads about current issues.


Education Week
We liked the article in the May 23rd issue of Education Week about how introverted children may be overlooked by their teachers -- and how their more thoughtful nature can be an asset in other situations, such as taking standardized tests.


Inside Schools
We have recommended the InsideSchools website before (a project of the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School), but haven't mentioned their presence on YouTube, where they have posted excellent instructional videos on how to choose a school and special education services. In the complex New York City public school maze, these video guides help provide clarity. For a sampling, check out the video below about specialized high schools in New York City.

Photo: Josh Pesavento/Flickr Creative Commons

Behavioral Therapy and ADHD

Scientific American has reported on findings from the recent Experimental Biology meeting in San Diego that look at the relative effectiveness of cognitive and behavioral therapies versus medications in helping children and young adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 

Included in the research reported at the meeting were findings by Dr. Claire Advokat of Louisiana State University, who looked at college students with attention difficulties and found that it was not medication, but good study habits, that determined several parameters of college success, such as grades. Dr. Advokat noted, according to the Scientific American report, that this does not mean that medication had no effect for these students, but that it may help students develop good study habits, which then improves student performance. 

Other researchers at the Experimental Biology meeting included Dr. William Pelham of Florida International University, who noted improvement in children's ADHD behaviors, such as classroom disturbances, when their parents received training in behavioral tools and in managing their own stress. Dr. Pelham has also conducted studies suggesting that children with ADHD who receive low doses of medication combined with behavioral therapy do better than children receiving only medication or only therapy. 

While there is much work to be done, none of the researchers whose findings were discussed in this article by Scientific American suggested going back to the days before ADHD medications became available and only cognitive and behavioral therapies could be offered; they generally agreed that it is important to explore the relative uses of all available modes of treatment. While medications generally work more quickly and are more cost effective than longer term behavioral therapies, they can have side effects. The real question that remains is what works best for each individual child and young adult in the long run.

Science and Science Fiction Reading Ideas

Science can be one of the most fascinating subjects a student can study. Kids love learning about the way the world around them works and appreciate the practicality of science. Science taught from a textbook, however, can be a dry topic indeed. Trade books can pep up science instruction that young people find tough to get excited about, however; and there are many fantastic offerings available. To ensure you’re supplying your young readers with the best of the best, check out favorites picked by the staff at the Smithsonian and the National Teachers of Science Association.

But not every child enjoys reading books about science. Why not whet kids’ appetites with science fiction instead? Great conversations can be had about whether or not the futuristic ideas in a science fiction novel are currently feasible, or what would need to happen for them to exist.

A quick Internet search for “children’s science fiction book list” yielded many great lists, some complied by various libraries around the country, others by news media and awards committees. One outstanding source for excellent science fiction titles for children of all ages is the Golden Duck Award list, though of course this list should not be considered exhaustive. Some stellar young adult titles, like The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (National Book Award Winner for Young People's Literature, Newbery Honor Book, Printz Honor Book) and Feed by M.T. Anderson (National Book Award Finalist) are notably absent. Still, it’s a great starting point for those unfamiliar with the genre’s offerings for young readers.

With this variety of genres and topics available, it should be easy to convince even the most skeptical of students that science rocks!

Photo: Lokesh Dhakar/Flickr Creative Commons

Book-Finding Websites

Here at The Yellin Center, many kids who are considered reluctant readers tell us that they like reading, if they can only find the right book. This caveat proves to be a frustrating challenge for both kids and their parents and teachers alike. The three websites below, however, may provide much-needed help in the search for that perfect next book. All three are easy enough for most children to use themselves and will allow kids and parents to make informed choices about their reading lists. Note that all three sites can search through titles for all ages, so children can use them to find books similar to The Hungry Caterpillar while parents can use them to decide what to read after The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

What Should I Read Next? is about as no-frills as its name suggests. Type in the title of a book you enjoyed and uncover a list of recommended titles. The site allows users to link easily to Amazon where they can learn more about the books on the list and purchase them. Users should double-check recommendations before purchasing, as some of the results from this site can be a bit unusual. A search for titles like Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie yielded many great choices, like Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patrician MacLachlan, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Mongomery, and All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor. Jon Scieszka’s The True Story of the Three Little Pigs seemed a less relevant match, however.

YourNextRead is both user-friendly and visually appealing. Simply type in the title of a book you enjoyed and similar books will appear in a colorful diagram. Click on the image of a recommended book to read a brief description and reviews of the book, and if none of the suggestions are appealing (or if you’ve read them all), look for the More Books option at the bottom of the page to see even more suggestions. A search for books like James and the Giant Peach yielded The Fantastic Mr. Fox, also by Roald Dahl, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, and many others. Hovering the mouse over the book will cause various thumbnail links to appear, allowing the user to easily find the book on Amazon, save it to a favorites list, email the title to a friend, preview sections of available books, and more.

Membership (free) is not required to useYourNextRead, but members can save searches and view their search history, so it may be worth the time it takes to sign up.

GoodReads works well for those looking for a spur-of-the-moment recommendation, but users who use it to record their reading may reap the biggest benefits. Nonmembers can simply visit the site, click on Recommendations, and start searching by genre. We clicked on “young adult” and found loads of titles appropriate for readers between the ages of 14 and 21. Descriptions of the books are easy to access: simply hover the mouse above the image of the book’s cover. A helpful text box on the right of the screen offered Related Genres such as Young Adult Fantasy, High School, and Coming of Age for further refining searches. And by scrolling down there were lists galore, with titles like “Most Read This Week,” “Best Creative Plots (w/ Love),” and “Best Young Adult Realistic Novels.”

As above, users don’t have to create an account to use GoodReads, but membership has great benefits. Members can enter and rate books they’ve read, and based on their preferences the site will recommend other similar books to them. Keeping such a record can be fun and rewarding for kids. Additionally, the site will save books in an “I want to read this” list for future reference.

3 Keys to Fostering Resilience in Children with LD and ADHD

Dr. Yellin recently contributed an article about a favorite topic of conversation here at The Yellin Center, resilience, to the newsletter of Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, a Connecticut-based non-profit organization dedicated to empowering the parents of children with learning disabilities and attention-deficit disorder.

Paul B. Yellin, MD, FAAP

In the article, Dr. Yellin writes: "So many of the children I see in my practice are their own harshest critics, exaggerating their weaknesses and diminishing their strengths. Helping children appreciate their strengths and talents is often the first step to resilient thinking."

Read 3 Keys to Fostering Resilience in Children with LD and ADHD here.

Effective Studying Techniques

Recent research in the American Psychological Association's Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition has shown that test-taking can be an effective form of learning and, in fact, is a more effective tool for retaining material than merely studying the subject matter involved. Students who have practice tests available to them, such as those in course review books, can use these tests to help learn the materials covered. Although many instructors do not circulate old tests so that they can re-use the questions, when old tests are available, students should use them to solidify their knowledge of the the material they cover.

For students who prefer to use flashcards, we like the website Quizlet, which offers students ages 13 and up access to millions of free flashcards or the opportunity to make up their own flashcard set using the Quizlet online tools. The site also offers study games, audio in 18 languages, the opportunity to create your own study groups, and associated apps for smartphones and other devices. It's still studying, but it doesn't have to be boring!

KidRex Lets Kids Roam The Internet Safely

KidRex is a useful search tool for parents and teachers worried about letting children run loose online.

Users can type any search criteria into the field on the appealing homepage, and the resulting pages will each be screened by Google SafeSearch for adult content before they are displayed. Sites geared towards children are emphasized in searches; for example, a search for “Africa” turned up several pages by PBS Kids first before listing denser results like Wikipedia farther down.

Set KidRex as your kids’ homepage to allow children to explore their online world in safety.

Visuwords: Word Webs to Help Build Vocabulary

Word webs can be a great way to teach students new vocabulary. Rather than simply examining the definition of a word, students have to arrange many words according to their meanings and thus consider finer points of their definitions as they determine how best to connect them. Visuwords, an innovative “online graphical dictionary” takes the idea of word webs to a completely different level.

With Visuwords (recommended for students in grade 5 and above), students can type just about any word (“rhythm” or “Jefferson”) or combination of words in common expressions (“blow up”) into the field at the top of the page, and moments later a word web will appear below. Using the key along the left edge of the screen, students can interpret the different colors and styles of connective lines to determine how the linked words are related to each other; options include “opposes” (e.g. “blow up” opposes “scale down”), “derivation" (e.g. “communicate” is a derivation of “communication”), “is a part of” (e.g. “photosynthesis” is a part of “light reaction”) and many, many more. The colored dot behind each word on the web indicates its part of speech. Best of all, a student can view definitions for any of the terms on the web by moving the mouse over a word, an ingenious way to provide lots of information without making the web too cluttered. Students can drag words around to make the web easier to view, or group similar concepts for deeper processing.

Visuwords can be a fantastic way to learn the shades of meaning inherent in complex words, and it can function as a thesaurus as well.

The Importance of Science Education in the U.S.

Few of us would question that science helps us understand the world around us. But in a recent blog for National Public Radio ("Why the U.S. Needs To Learn More Science," October, 19, 2011), Marcelo Gleiser argues that the importance of learning science goes far beyond that: it helps shape our culture and our philosophy. Gleiser cites the shift away from superstition and toward reason, and the changes in the way we view our world and communicate with each other, all thanks to science.

“Science is more than a collection of explanations about the natural world: science is a means to freedom, offering people a way to control their destiny, to choose wisely in what to believe.” Gleiser quotes Gallileo, who insisted, “Think for yourself! Don’t take what people tell you at face value. Do not bow blindly to dogma!”

Gleiser looks to the future as well as nodding to the past, raising issues like genetics in medicine and global warming. “Only a well-informed population is able to make well-informed choices about science and the environment that will shape our future,” he points out. Gleiser recommends a list of scientists who, like himself, view science writing for the purpose of educating the public as part of their mission.  The U.S., he concludes, needs to learn more science.

Photo used under Creative Commons by Liz

Test-Taking Tips From The Experts

Because of the nature of memory, we often tell students that the best way to study for a test is to take practice tests. Research indicates that rereading study material, the method preferred by most people, is less effective than taking practice tests for two reasons: First, our brains have difficulty distinguishing between material with which we are familiar and material which we truly understand. Students may stop studying too early because they recall seeing information before, only to realize during the test that they didn’t actually understand it. Second, answering practice questions gives the brain practice at retrieving information from long-term memory, the process a student undergoes during actual testing. Students who have the opportunity to rehearse “finding” answers are more prepared to do this quickly and easily on test day.

An article in The Wall Street Journal from earlier this week covers this principle and offers other testing tips derived from a number of studies on learning. For example, nearly everybody knows that eating a nutritious breakfast on test day is important, but a recent experiment demonstrated that consumption of a nutritious diet should start a week before the test date for optimum results. The article also discusses how to balance sleeping and studying, and offers tips to help combat test anxiety. 

Students gearing up for the first round of mid-terms can access the full article here.

Photo used under Creative Commons by Steven S.

Friday Link Roundup

Discussion in NYC for Parents of Children with Learning Difficulties: Navigating the Social Jungle
No Child Left Behind Waivers Worry Some Advocates (NPR)
ADHD Doubles The Risk Of Injury In Grade-School Kids (Medical News Today)
Fast-Paced Television Cartoons Impact Young Children's Executive Function (Pediatrics)

NYC Department of Education to Hold "Parents as Partners" Events (NYC Dept. of Education)


Photo used under Creative Commons by John Morgan